A 17-Year-Old Boy From Odisha Have Discovered A Way To Generate Electricity From Scrapped ₹500 Notes

And you thought they are of no use.

Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesPeople in queue waiting outside bank with old 500 Rs. notes in front of RBI.

If you still have any of those scrapped ₹500 notes, guess what you can do it? Apparently, you can generate electricity.

After the demonetisation move last year, Lachman Dundi, a17-year-old student from Odisha's Nuapada district devised a technique to generate electricity from the scrapped notes, reports Times Of India.

He can reportedly produce up to five volts from a single ₹500 note.

So how does Dundi generate electricity from the currency notes?

He uses the silicon coating on the note to create energy.

"I tore up the note so that the coating is visible, which I exposed to direct sunlight. The silicon plate has to be connected to a transformer with an electric wire. This can help generate electricity," he told ToI.

What started just as a college project has now reached the PMO who has shown great interest in the project. The Odisha government has directed the state science and technology department to study Dundi's project and send a report to the PMO.

"When nobody took notice, I wrote to the Prime Minister and chief minister," the 17-year-old said. The son of a farmer, Dundi earns his study expenses by selling LED bulbs assembled by him in the local market.